Feral Jundi

Monday, September 1, 2008

Industry Talk: Courage and Sacrifice

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 11:37 AM

     I wanted to post this story, because it was truly inspiring.  Most of the time you hear of Military guys going back to the war zone after injuries, and those are totally motivating.  To see a guy operating over there, while wearing a prosthetic is something else to see.  It takes a certain kind of resolve to get yourself back in the game like that, and I have tons of respect for our injured troops.  And what mostly drives them, is the desire to get back with their comrades.

 

    But this story is a little different.  When a contractor gets injured and expresses a desire to go back to that war zone, then that is really unique.  It further emphasizes the kind of dedication that is out there, both on the Military side and Contractor side and really is motivating to read about.  And for Mr. Shah, thanks for everything you have done and sacrificed for this country and the war effort.  I also know that Mr. Shah is not alone, and that I know of other contractors that have returned back to the war zones they were injured at. –Head Jundi

 

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The New York Times

September 1, 2008

A Kind of Courage That’s Hard to Translate

 

By CARA BUCKLEY

 

The military translator from Queens sat beside his mother in a wheelchair in a hospital room on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Thursday. His right leg was encased in a black boot, affixed with Velcro straps from his swollen toes to his knee. What was left of his left leg, which had been amputated at the knee, was wrapped in a snug elastic rubber stocking on which the word “stump” had been scrawled.

 

The man’s name is Syed Shah and he was grievously wounded in July in a bomb attack on a military convoy in Afghanistan, where he had been working as a translator for soldiers battling the Taliban. Mr. Shah is learning to walk with a prosthetic leg, though his progress is severely hindered because he cannot put any weight on his partly shattered right leg.

 

Yet to his family’s shock and anguish, and to his doctors’ awe, Mr. Shah is aiming to be back in Afghanistan by year’s end.

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Thursday, August 28, 2008

Industry Talk: CIA Curtails Contract with MVM, SOC Picks it Up

Filed under: Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 10:48 AM

Thanks to Scott for hooking me up with this article.  –Head Jundi 

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CIA Curtails Contract

With U.S. Security Firm in Iraq

By SIOBHAN GORMAN and AUGUST COLE

August 28, 2008; Page B1

 

MVM Inc., one of the biggest security contractors used by U.S. intelligence agencies, has lost the bulk of a Central Intelligence Agency contract in Iraq after failing to provide enough armed guards, according to company emails and contractors familiar with the decision.

 

The loss of the CIA contract, which was potentially worth more than $1 billion over five years, is a big blow to closely held MVM, based in Vienna, Va. Overseas work for U.S. intelligence agencies represents a third of the company’s $200 million in annual revenue and is believed to be one of the fastest-growing areas of the contracting business.

 

Intelligence officers needing protective services are likely to remain in Iraq even after U.S. troops leave, so demand for such services will continue or possibly increase. The CIA’s largest foreign station is in Baghdad, with hundreds of officers estimated to be based there. The loss of the contract will likely hurt MVM’s chances of winning further work with the agency.

 

“We are disappointed to announce that the client has not chosen MVM Inc.,” Rob Whitfield, who manages MVM’s CIA work, wrote to the company’s pool of guards on Aug. 22, according to a copy of the email viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

 

MVM declined to respond to specific questions. In a written statement, the company said it has an “outstanding performance history” working in dangerous regions and it has never failed to “secure any personnel or facilities that we have been contracted to protect.” The company also said that it is “fully compliant with all of the contractual obligations of our diverse client base.”

 

A CIA spokesman said the agency doesn’t comment on contracting decisions.

 

MVM’s performance on the CIA contract, known as Panther, was the subject of a Page One article in the Journal last month. The article also discussed alleged problems with a related National Security Agency contract, dubbed Scorpion, which provides guards for NSA employees overseas.

 

The article detailed allegations from a former MVM guard who said his teammates fabricated an after-action report about a November 2004 shooting incident to cover up their errors. Other contractors detailed problems in areas such as staffing and equipment.

 

In the article, MVM Chief Executive Dario Marquez said the government had been satisfied with MVM’s work. “We have a great working relationship with both these clients,” he said in an interview for the article, referring to the CIA and NSA.

 

The NSA has begun probing the allegations, according to a former MVM manager familiar with the inquiry, including sending an official to Baghdad last month to interview contractors employed by MVM at the time. An NSA spokesman said the agency had no information to provide on the inquiry or the contract.

 

The CIA’s Panther contract with MVM was to protect CIA officers in Iraq. MVM will retain a small portion responsible for guarding CIA facilities and will continue to provide a handful of mobile guards at two sites whose locations are classified, but which aren’t in Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan, according to Mr. Whitfield’s email.

 

The CIA awarded the more profitable work-protecting officers traveling around the country to a Nevada company, SOC Inc. SOC has been providing logistical support such as food services and electricity to the CIA in war zones.

 

SOC didn’t respond to requests for comment.

 

The U.S. relies on contractors throughout the intelligence community, though few are sent overseas. According to a recent report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, about 5% of the estimated 37,000 contracted intelligence personnel work overseas.

 

Overall, about 70% of the total intelligence budget, including electricity, is outsourced; some 27% of the total amount is spent on people doing core work, such as those with specific skills such as languages.

 

According to several former MVM managers, MVM was regularly 10 to 15 guards short of the 100 or so it promised. The lack of guards required the agency to postpone missions, one former manager said.

 

Guards working on Panther were frustrated with MVM’s management and pay and many decided to sign on with SOC, which promised $715 a day, compared with $630 MVM offered, according to a contractor familiar with the situation.

 

MVM’s Mr. Whitfield said in the email that the company “would have provided the most positive working environment for the independent contractors in the field.”

 

MVM plans to pursue “other opportunities” with CIA, Mr. Whitfield added.

 

Wall Street Journal article

 

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Industry Talk: Introducing Robin Barratt, and a Critique of the SIA

Filed under: Industry Talk,United Kingdom — Tags: , , — Matt @ 12:33 PM

     For this post, I wanted to introduce a new guest author from across the pond.  Robin Barratt is his name and he is a close protection specialist, author and the founder of the British Bodyguard Association.  I look forward to his future articles about Close Protection and his latest reports about the pulse of the industry in his neck of the woods.  

 

     At the BBA, there are several areas to check out which I think are worth mentioning.  There is a forum with job postings, a magazine called ‘The Circuit’, a blog and a store.  At the store, you can check out some of Robin’s books. There is a subscription fee and/or membership fee for the BBA, but if you are in the business of collecting information about the industry and getting connected, then it should be will be well worth it.  Especially if you are able to make a connection or get a job through the BBA network.

 

    This article below is just a taste of the kind of stuff that Robin covers and if you like that, then his magazine ‘The Circuit’ would be the ticket.  Also, with the membership with the BBA, you get an online newsletter that is a lot like the Blackwater Tactical Newsletter.  Lots of up to date information and he posts the latest jobs. –Head Jundi  

 

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 How the Government has failed the British Close Protection Industry

Established in 2003, The Security Industry Authority (SIA) was set up “to raise standards of professionalism and skills within the private security industry and to promote and spread best practice”. It reports directly to the British Government’s Home Office, and its remit is “to help protect society by collaboratively developing and achieving high standards within the private security industry”. However, in my opinion, specifically within the Close Protection sector (as well as the door supervisor area) , it has done just the opposite. 

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Industry Talk: Israeli Security Firm ‘Global CST’ on the World Stage

Filed under: Colombia,Georgia(country),Industry Talk,Israel,Syria — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 11:23 AM

    Well, I have been busy with trying to find the unique stories and angles out there that no one is covering, and I think I may have found one.  Who has heard of the Israeli companies Global CST or Defensive Shield?  I have never heard of them, but I tell you what, they are certainly making a splash now!

 

     For the Georgia deal, as you can see below, the work these security firms did there was significant.  The Syrians are using that work as propaganda to rub it in the face of Israel as ‘another loss’.  This to me is amazing, because it is a sign of how significant the roll of security companies can have on the world stage.  And for the record, I tend to agree with the Israeli side, that Georgia was no match for Russia, no matter who trained them.  It’s a numbers game.  

 

     And this idea of security companies getting involved with highly volatile and political situations, reminds me of the US private security company Steele Foundation and their contract to protect Aristide in Haiti several years ago.  This was a prime example of a security company getting thrown into the middle of a sticky situation, while just trying to do their job.   

 

     With that deal, the State Dept. was using Steele Foundation security teams to protect Aristide, and then later run him out of Haiti towards the end of his crumbling Presidency.  The funny thing about this, is that I guess Aristide had no idea that he was stepping down, according to him.  And that the State Dept. blocked his request for more security guys to reinforce his current detail.  Very interesting time period for the Steele Foundation guys and kudos to them for working through a complex deal like that.

 

     But back to these Israeli Security Firms. They were also involved with the training of Colombia’s forces and rumored to have influenced the planning for Operation Jacque(hostage rescue).  This was a huge deal and very complex.  It looks like Global CST was involved with that one too–and was once again thrust onto the world stage in a highly public rescue.  Even Ingrid Betencourte, one of the rescued hostages, commented that it was run like a ‘Israeli commando operation’.

 

    So I guess this is an indicator that we will probably see more of these companies in the future?  I know I am paying attention now.  Here is a link to their website. Interesting stuff.  –Head Jundi    

 

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Major General (res.) Israel Ziv, owner of Global CST. 

 

2 Israeli firms say they left Georgia before fighting

By Amos Harel

 

Two Israeli security companies, Defensive Shield and Global CST, announced yesterday that they had completed their projects in Georgia before fighting between that country and Russia broke out on Friday. The two are among several Israeli companies advising Georgia on security matters, training its army and occasionally supplying it with weapons.

 

Defensive Shield, owned by Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, said all its employees, including its subcontractors, are no longer in Georgia. It said it completed the work it had been contracted to do, and that all its contracts with Georgia had been approved by Israel’s Defense Ministry. Security systems services company Global CST, managed by Maj. Gen. (res.) Israel Ziv, said it finished its work in Georgia at the end of July.

 

Russia expanded its bombing blitz against neighboring Georgia yesterday, targeting the country’s capital for the first time, while Georgian troops pulled out of the breakaway province of South Ossetia, as Russia demanded, the Associated Press reported.

 

Georgia launched a major offensive to regain control over South Ossetia overnight Friday, and some 1,500 people have reportedly been killed there since then, with the death toll rising. South Ossetia split from Georgia in the early 1990s and has since built up ties with Moscow.

(more…)

Monday, August 18, 2008

Industry Talk: Blackwater Employees Receive ‘Target Letters’ from the Justice Department

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq,News — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 11:59 AM

     It’s interesting the various reactions of contractors on all the other forums out there. Seeing how a lot of contractors are former cops, you get a unique perspective on all of this.

     The things I hear is that the Target Letter is used as a scare tactic to get these guys to talk.

     That most feel like these guys are getting a raw deal and that Iraq is still a war zone and Murphy’s Law still applies–go figure?

     The other thing I am hearing is that this might backfire on DOJ. Meaning, you get these guys on the witness stand, and that means you have to put DOS on the witness stand and any other clients (Do you think Condi Rice wants to be on the stand?) 

     And God forbid if this case gets thrown out because they can’t find shell casings, and they cannot find enough witnesses or evidence to support the case. That they did not secure the crime scene (because it is an active war zone), nor did they properly question witnesses (who might be insurgents), nor can they trust these witnesses because of possible connections with the insurgents. And you know the Blackwater employee lawyers are going to talk about everything, meaning how involved DOS is with the process and how much of an asset Blackwater has been. 

     It could go either way for them, and we’ll see how far this goes. I feel for the guys that are having to go through this, and this is certainly a cautionary tale for the rest of us working in this industry.

     My assessment is that I wasn’t there, nor am I going to judge. I do know that stuff happens quick in those situations, that all of these guys that were working for Blackwater and DOS were trained to a certain standard, that they are all prior military, and they had to have clearances in order to play. These are not KBR bus drivers that Blackwater picked up in Green Zone to fill a slot(which I have seen done before with some of the other companies–unbelievable).

     I give these guys more credit than that, and I will not jump on the bandwagon of throwing these brothers under the bus. Just like I didn’t jump on the Murtha Bandwagon of throwing the Marines under the bus about the Haditha deal. – Head Jundi

 

 

 

The VBIED blast that initiated the actions at Nisoor Square. (up top)The set up of vehicles and overhead view of the square.

 

 

Justice Dept. Moves Toward Charges Against Contractors in Iraq Shooting

 

By Del Quentin Wilber and Karen DeYoung

Washington Post Staff Writers

Sunday, August 17, 2008; A01

 

Federal prosecutors have sent target letters to six Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a September shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, indicating a high likelihood the Justice Department will seek to indict at least some of the men, according to three sources close to the case.

 

The guards, all former U.S. military personnel, were working as security contractors for the State Department, assigned to protect U.S. diplomats and other non-military officials in Iraq. The shooting occurred when their convoy arrived at a busy square in central Baghdad and guards tried to stop traffic.

 

An Iraqi government investigation concluded that the security contractors fired without provocation. Blackwater has said its personnel acted in self-defense.

 

The sources said that any charges against the guards would likely be brought under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which has previously been used to prosecute only the cases referred to the Justice Department by the Defense Department for crimes committed by military personnel and contractors overseas. Legal experts have questioned whether contractors working for the State Department can be prosecuted under its provisions.

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